11A*
A Call to Worship
Epiphany 3A [Ordinary 3A] 2014
Psalm 27: 1, 4-9

All people, gather together to worship the Lord God, who brings true Light to us all.
We come, because God’s wants to talk with us, and to show us God’s Light of Love.

All people, gather together to praise the Lord God, who liberates us from our fears.
We come, because God’s wants to talk with us, and to calm our anxieties and stresses.

All people, gather together to celebrate the Lord God, who is our Secure Refuge and
our Strength, who always welcomes us into the sanctuary of God’s sacred presence.
We come, because God’s wants to talk with us, to reassure us that God is always the
Radiant Light and Helper to guide us; and the Mighty Liberator to keep and bless us all. Amen.

Psalm 27: 1, 4-9
A psalm of David.

1 The LORD is my light and my salvation -- so why should I be afraid?
The LORD protects me from danger -- so why should I tremble?

4 The one thing I ask of the LORD -- the thing I seek most –
is to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,
delighting in the LORD's perfections and meditating in his Temple.
5 For he will conceal me there when troubles come;
he will hide me in his sanctuary.
He will place me out of reach on a high rock.
6 Then I will hold my head high, above my enemies who surround me.
At his Tabernacle I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy,
singing and praising the LORD with music.

7 Listen to my pleading, O LORD. Be merciful and answer me!
8 My heart has heard you say, "Come and talk with me."
And my heart responds, "LORD, I am coming."
9 Do not hide yourself from me. Do not reject your servant in anger.
You have always been my helper.
Don't leave me now; don't abandon me, O God of my salvation!

Prayers of Trust and Praise
Epiphany 3A [Ordinary 3A] 2014
Psalm 27: 1, 4-9

Light-bringing, Light-giving God, we come into your holy presence this day,
confident that the light of your love will transform us into people who joyfully
and honestly value the fact that God is central to our life. Today, we join with
countless people in worship, to praise and honour God the Holy One, praying:
“Holy God, we praise your name, Lord of all, we bow before you; all on earth,
your power proclaim, all in heaven above adore you, boundless is your vast
domain, everlasting is your reign...”1 We also come to worship God in hope and
trust, and because of our lifetime’s experiences we know we can trust in God—
regardless of the dark fears that disturb our hearts and minds. We pray that the
Lord who is our Light, will shine brightly and warmly on us to bless us this day.

Life-giving and Life-renewing God, we come into your holy presence this day,
confident that you are our Liberator and Saviour. O God, we praise and bless
your Holy Name, because of your great mercy towards us all, especially in our
times of need and distress. Like the Psalmist, we have cried out to you: “...You
have always been my helper. Don't leave me now; don't abandon me, O God
of my salvation...!” and through God’s gracious mercy and love, we have been
freed of all that threatened us. Liberating God, through your mercy we pray that
you will always be for us: “The Lord is...my salvation -- so why should I be afraid?”

God, you are our Rock and our Refuge, we come into your holy presence this day,
confident that the security you offer us will strengthen us to face whatever life brings
to us. We praise and bless your Holy Name, because of your great mercy towards
us all, and we celebrate our shared knowledge and experiences that: “Lord, you have
been our dwelling-place in every generation; your people have received your grace,
and blessed your consolation; through every age you heard our cry; through every
age we found you nigh, our strength and our salvation…..Your people, Lord, have
dwelt in you; and you remain our dwelling true, forever and forever.”2 Guardian God,
in hope and in trusting assurance, we gather today, to offer to you our thanks and praise. Amen.

A Personal Meditation
Epiphany 3A [Ordinary 3A] 2014
Psalm 27: 1, 4-9

“…Listen to my pleading, O Lord. Be merciful and answer me! My heart
has heard you say, ‘Come and talk with me.’ And my heart responds,
‘Lord, I am coming….’" or as the NRSV has that invitation: “...‘Come,’
my heart says, ‘seek his face! Your face, Lord, do I seek...’” I think that
“...Come and talk with me…” is much more intimate and a more attractive
invitation than “…Come, seek his [the Lord’s] face..” I also think that the
invitation to talk with God is even more personal than “traditional” prayers—
whatever they are! That invitation includes mutual openness, trust and
acceptance of that person as being of real significance to God, and that
God wants to share in a conversation within a mutually agreed language,
even if their status is unequal. “Come and talk with me…Lord, I am coming…’"

Creative pause: Would you rather look at God’s face, or talk with God?


Recently, at “Worship on Thursday”, the members initiated a discussion
on the relevance today of some of the traditional “religious” words, after
I described Jesus as the “Liberator” instead of the “Saviour”. Does the
“traditional” question: “Have you been “saved” from your sin?” have any
real meaning or relevance to people with little religious background? Are
there other and better ways to ask about a person’s relationship with God;
and if they aware of their separation from their “Saving” God, because of
their sin? I think that “Liberator” is much easier to understand than “Saviour”;
and “release” or “freedom” are easier to understand than “being saved”!
There are other “religious words used in “church speak” that mean nothing
to many people, even to people who regularly pray and who attend church!

Creative pause: Does our “religious” language separate us from people?


The Psalmist prayed: “....The one thing I ask of the Lord - the thing I seek
most is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in
the Lord's perfections and meditating in his Temple…”” If you had one wish
or desire to make your life complete and fulfilled, for what would you ask?
Realistically and spiritually, would you ask to live all your days and nights in
prayer and praise of God in “your” church, spending all your time in worship—
honouring and revering God? Would you really seek each day to give and
receive accepting love, fellowship, and mutual trust there in “your” spiritual
home? Each night, would you pass the hours in meditation and prayer? Or is
our personal response to the glory of God’s presence to be expressed through
a combination of worship, witness and service – according to our gifts and
our circumstances. Or is all this just an idealised understanding of what God
asks of us? The Psalmist went on to claim: “...For he will conceal me there
when troubles come; he will hide me in his sanctuary...” Does this sense of
security come from being in the sacred sanctuary; or does that security come
from the comfort of God’s reassuring presence? What does worshipping God
in “your” church in a shared, supportive fellowship mean to your life and faith?

Creative pause: Why do you go to church, and what does “your” church mean to you?


1 From “Together in Song” #126
“Holy God, we praise your name"
Words in the Public Domain
Based on the “Te Deum laudamus”

2 From “Together in Song” #144
“Lord, you have been our dwelling place”
Thomas Hornblower Gill (alt.) 1819-1906
Words in the Public Domain

Acknowledgements:
Unless stated otherwise, all Bible readings and extracts used in these weekly Prayers and
Meditations are from the ‘New Living Translation’, © 1996. Copyright. All rights reserved.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189 USA.

*Revised Indexing Scheme from 'Consultation on Church Union' (COCU).

I acknowledge and give heartfelt thanks for the theological inspiration available from the writings of Professor Walter Brueggemann; and through the resources from the internet and “The Text this Week” (Textweek).

If the Prayers and/or Meditations are used in shared worship, please provide this acknowledgement:
© 2014 Joan Stott – ‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year A. Used with permission.

jstott@netspace.net.au
www.thetimelesspsalms.net

Download/view a pdf file of this document here: epiphany3[3]a_2014.pdf